Compartmentalized shielding of selected components

ABSTRACT

Embodiments include devices and methods for manufacturing a module having a first shielded compartment and a second shielded compartment, wherein the first shielded compartment is electrically isolated from the second shielded compartment. Electrical conductivity is controlled in a manner in which current flow between shielded circuits is directed to reduce or eliminate energy from being coupled between one or more shielded compartments on the same module. Each module may have a plurality of individual shielded compartments, where each compartment has a dedicated ground plane. The shields for each compartment may be tied to the dedicated ground plane of the compartment. Because the dedicated ground planes are not tied together, each of the shielded compartments on the modules remains isolated from all the other shielded compartments on the modules. In some embodiments having a plurality of shielded compartments, there is at least one isolated shielded compartment depending upon the design needs of the module.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patentapplication No. 61/374,705, filed Aug. 18, 2010, entitled COMPREHENSIVECOMPARTMENTALIZED SHIELDING OF SELECTIVE COMPONENTS WITH INDIVIDUALGROUNDING, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by referencein its entirety. This application is also related to the following U.S.patent applications: application Ser. No. 11/199,319, now U.S. Pat. No.7,451,539, filed Aug. 8, 2005, entitled METHOD OF MAKING A CONFORMALELECTROMAGNETIC INTERFERENCE SHIELD; application Ser. No. 11/435,913,now U.S. Pat. No. 8,062,930, filed May 17, 2006, entitled SUB-MODULECONFORMAL ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERFERENCE SHIELD; application Ser. No.11/768,014, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,053,872, filed Jun. 25, 2007, entitledINTEGRATED SHIELD FOR A NO-LEAD SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE PACKAGE;application Ser. No. 11/952,484, filed Dec. 7, 2007, entitled FIELDBARRIER STRUCTURES WITHIN A CONFORMAL SHIELD; application Ser. No.11/952,513, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,220,145, filed Dec. 7, 2007, entitledISOLATED CONFORMAL SHIELDING; application Ser. No. 11/952,545, filedDec. 7, 2007, entitled CONFORMAL SHIELDING EMPLOYING SEGMENT BUILDUP;application Ser. No. 12/766,347, filed Apr. 23, 2010, entitled CONFORMALSHIELDING EMPLOYING SEGMENT BUILDUP (Continuation); application Ser. No.11/952,592, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,409,658, filed Dec. 7, 2007, entitledCONFORMAL SHIELDING PROCESS USING FLUSH STRUCTURES; application Ser. No.11/952,617, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,434,220, filed Dec. 7, 2007, entitledHEAT SINK FORMED WITH CONFORMAL SHIELD; application Ser. No. 11/952,634,now U.S. Pat. No. 8,186,048, filed Dec. 7, 2007, entitled CONFORMALSHIELDING PROCESS USING PROCESS GASES; application Ser. No. 11/952,670,now U.S. Pat. No. 8,359,739, filed Dec. 7, 2007, entitled BOTTOM SIDESUPPORT STRUCTURE FOR CONFORMAL SHIELDING PROCESS; application Ser. No.11/952,690, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,061,012, filed Dec. 7, 2007, entitledBACKSIDE SEAL FOR CONFORMAL SHIELDING PROCESS; application Ser. No.12/797,381, filed Jun. 9, 2010, INTEGRATED POWER AMPLIFIER ANDTRANSCEIVER; application Ser. No. 12/913,364, now U.S. Pat. No.8,296,938, filed Oct. 27, 2010, entitled BACKSIDE SEAL FOR CONFORMALSHIELDING PROCESS (Divisional); application Ser. No. 13/034,755, nowU.S. Pat. No. 8,959,762, filed Feb. 25, 2011, entitled ELECTRONICMODULES HAVING GROUNDED ELECTROMAGNETIC SHIELDS; application Ser. No.13/034,787, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,835,226, filed Feb. 25, 2011, entitledCONNECTION USUNG CONDUCTIVE VIAS; application Ser. No. 13/036,272, filedFeb. 28, 2011, entitled MICROSHIELD ON STANDARD QFN PACKAGE; applicationSer. No. 13/117,284, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,296,941, filed May 27, 2011,entitled CONFORMAL SHIELDING EMPLOYING SEGMENT BUILDUP; and applicationSer. No. 13/151,499, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,720,051, filed Jun. 2, 2011,entitled CONFORMAL SHIELDING USING PROCESS GASES; the disclosures ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The embodiments described herein related to producing electronicmodules. More particularly, the embodiments described herein relate tomanufacturing modules having electrically isolated shield compartments.

BACKGROUND

Typical electronic circuit boards that contain signal transmitters andreceivers use one of two methods for implementing shielding betweenelectrical blocks that are non signal symbiotic in function.Compartments enclosing circuits are either realized by placing a metalframe (sometimes referred to as a Faraday Cage) around the area to beshielded at the time of manufacture followed by a solder reflow assemblyprocess step to secure the metal frame in place. A second common type ofimplementation is to apply a cover with pre-constructed compartmentsover the areas to be segregated as a post assembly process. Both methodsare widely used in the electronics industry today. Both methods requireseparate piece parts and, as such, have several disadvantages.

Furthermore, the electronics and communications industry is pushing tomore highly integrated circuits and system. In particular, the smallersize circuit blocks reduce the overall size of products. As the size ofthe circuit blocks are reduced, the need for isolation between varioustypes of functional circuit blocks in close proximity to one another hasincreased. Co-locating circuit blocks with high degrees of signalemissions as well as circuits that are susceptible to noisy environmentsis a growing problem as technology drives toward furtherminiaturization. Thus, there is a need to develop a method by whichisolation between these blocks is achieved while providing a more highlyintegrated system.

SUMMARY

Embodiments described in the detailed description relate to devices anda method for manufacturing a module having a first shielded compartmentand a second shielded compartment, wherein the first shieldedcompartment is electrically isolated from the second shieldedcompartment. Electrical conductivity is controlled in a manner in whichcurrent flow between shielded circuits is directed to reduce oreliminate energy from being coupled between one or more shieldedcompartments on the same module. Each module may have individualshielded compartments, where each of the compartments has a dedicatedground plane. The shields for each compartment may be tied to thededicated ground plane of the compartment. Because the dedicated groundplanes are not tied together, each of the shielded compartments on themodule remains isolated from all the other shielded compartments on themodule. In some embodiments, having several shielded compartments, thereis at least one isolated shielded compartment depending upon the designneeds of the module.

As an exemplary embodiment, a module may have multiple shieldedcompartments formed by a process including forming a module having afirst circuit and a second circuit on a first surface of a substrate.Thereafter, a dielectric material may be applied to the module to form abody of the module. A portion of the body of the module may be removedto expose a portion of a metallic layer grid about a periphery of thefirst circuit and about a periphery of the second circuit. A conductivematerial is then applied to the body of the module and an exposedportion of the metallic layer grid to form a first shielded compartmentassociated with the first circuit and a second shielded compartmentassociated with a second circuit. Thereafter, a portion of theconductive material and the metallic layer grid may be removed toelectrically isolate the first shielded compartment of the module fromthe second shielded compartment of the module.

Another exemplary embodiment includes a method for manufacturing anelectronic module. First, a meta-module work piece for manufacturingmodules may be provided. The meta-module work piece may include a topside having a metallic layer grid, where the metallic layer grid forms aperiphery about first electrical component areas and second electricalcomponent areas, and the each of the first electrical component areascorresponds to a first electric circuit and each of the secondelectrical component areas corresponds to a second electric circuit.Components for each first electric circuit and each second electriccircuit may be mounted onto the meta-module work piece. Thereafter, adielectric material may be applied to the top side of the meta-modulework piece to form an over-mold body. The over-mold body of themeta-module work-piece may be sliced through to form bodiescorresponding to each first component area and each second componentarea of each module and expose a portion of the metallic layer gridabout the periphery of each of the bodies. A conductive material maythen be applied to the meta-module work piece to cover each of thebodies and the exposed portions of the metallic layer grid about theperiphery of each of the bodies to form a first shielded compartment anda second shielded compartment on each of the modules, where the firstshielded compartment and the second shielded compartment of each of themodules are electrically coupled by a conductive path. Thereafter, theconductive material and the metallic layer grid may be sub-diced throughto break a conductive path between the first shielded compartment andthe second shielded compartment on each of the modules. The meta-modulework piece may be singulated to form the modules, wherein each of themodules includes the first shielded compartment and the second shieldedcompartment.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate the scope of the disclosure andrealize additional aspects thereof after reading the following detaileddescription in association with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of thisspecification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, and togetherwith the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

FIG. 1 depicts a module having two electrically isolated shieldedcompartments.

FIG. 2 depicts a cutaway view of the module of FIG. 1, which has twoelectrically isolated shielded compartments.

FIG. 3 depicts a perspective view of a meta-module work piece includinga substrate and a metallic layer grid on the top of the substrate.

FIGS. 4A-F depict cutaway views of a meta-module work piece used toproduce a module having two or more electrically isolated shieldedcompartments.

FIG. 5 depicts a flow diagram of process steps related to FIG. 4A-FIG.3, and FIGS. 6-10.

FIG. 6 depicts a perspective view of the meta-module work piece of FIG.3 having components placed on the meta-module work piece, as shown inthe cutaway view of FIG. 4B.

FIG. 7 depicts a perspective view of a dielectric material depositedonto the meta-module work piece, as depicted in the cutaway view of FIG.4C.

FIG. 8 depicts a perspective view of the meta-module work piece aftersub-dicing the dielectric material to form an over-mold body, asdepicted in the cutaway view of FIG. 4D.

FIG. 9 depicts a perspective view of the meta-module work piece afteraddition of a conductive material to the top surface of the meta-modulework piece.

FIG. 10 depicts a perspective view of the meta-module work piecefollowing sub-dicing of the meta-module surface.

FIG. 11 depicts a perspective view of the individual modules of themeta-module following segmentation of the meta-module, as also depictedin FIG. 4F.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The embodiments set forth below represent the necessary information toenable those skilled in the art to practice the disclosure andillustrate the best mode of practicing the disclosure. Upon reading thefollowing description in light of the accompanying drawings, thoseskilled in the art will understand the concepts of the disclosure andwill recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressedherein. It should be understood that these concepts and applicationsfall within the scope of the disclosure and the accompanying claims.

Embodiments described herein relate to devices and a method formanufacturing a module having a first shielded compartment and a secondshielded compartment, wherein the first shielded compartment iselectrically isolated from the second shielded compartment. Electricalconductivity is controlled in a manner in which current flow betweenshielded circuits is directed to reduce or eliminate energy from beingcoupled between one or more shielded compartments on the same module.Each module may have two or more individual shielded compartments, whereeach compartment has a dedicated ground plane. The shield for eachcompartment may be tied to the dedicated ground plane of thecompartment. Because the dedicated ground planes are not tied together,each of the shielded compartments on the modules remains isolated fromall the other shielded compartments on the modules. In some embodimentshaving two or more shielded compartments, there is at least one isolatedshielded compartment depending upon the design needs of the module.

As an exemplary embodiment, a module may have multiple shieldedcompartments formed by a process including forming a module having afirst circuit and a second circuit on a first surface of a substrate.Thereafter, a dielectric material may be applied to the module to form abody of the module. A portion of the body of the module may be removedto expose a portion of a metallic layer grid about a periphery of thefirst circuit and about a periphery of the second circuit. A conductivematerial is then applied to the body of the module and an exposedportion of the metallic layer grid to form a first shielded compartmentassociated with the first circuit and a second shielded compartmentassociated with a second circuit. Thereafter, a portion of theconductive material and the metallic layer grid may be removed toelectrically isolate the first shielded compartment of the module fromthe second shielded compartment of the module.

Another exemplary embodiment includes a method for manufacturing anelectronic module. First, a meta-module work piece for manufacturingmodules may be provided. The meta-module work piece may include a topside having a metallic layer grid, where the metallic layer grid forms aperiphery about first electrical component areas and second electricalcomponent areas, and the each of the first electrical component areascorresponds to a first electric circuit and each of the secondelectrical component areas corresponds to a second electric circuit.Components for each first electric circuit and each second electriccircuit may be mounted onto the meta-module work piece. Thereafter, adielectric material may be applied to the top side of the meta-modulework piece to form an over-mold body. The over-mold body of themeta-module work-piece may be sliced through to form bodiescorresponding to each first component area and each second componentarea of each module and expose a portion of the metallic layer gridabout the periphery of each of the bodies. A conductive material maythen be applied to the meta-module work piece to cover each of thebodies and the exposed portions of the metallic layer grid about theperiphery of each of the bodies to form a first shielded compartment anda second shielded compartment on each of the modules, where the firstshielded compartment and the second shielded compartment of each of themodules are electrically coupled by a conductive path. Thereafter, theconductive material and the metallic layer grid may be sub-diced throughto break a conductive path between the first shielded compartment andthe second shielded compartment on each of the modules. The meta-modulework piece may be singulated to form the modules, wherein each of themodules includes the first shielded compartment and the second shieldedcompartment.

FIGS. 1-2 depict an embodiment of a module 10 having a first shieldedcompartment 11A and a second shielded compartment 11B formed on asubstrate 12. FIG. 1 depicts a perspective view of the module 10 afterthe module 10 is singulated from a meta-module work piece havingmodules, as depicted in FIG. 4F and FIG. 11.

Returning to FIGS. 1 and 2, FIG. 2 depicts a cross-sectional view of themodule depicted in FIG. 1. As depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2, the module 10includes a substrate 12 and a metal layer 14. The substrate 12 may be alaminate having a plurality of layers. The laminated layers of thesubstrate 12 may include prepreg material. The metal layer 14 isconfigured to form a metallic layer grid 16 on to a surface 18 of thesubstrate 12, as shown in FIG. 3. The metallic layer grid 16 may be usedto form shield metal contacts or metal traces on the substrate 12 towhich a conductive material may bond to form the first shieldedcompartment 11A and the second shielded compartment 11B. The bottomsurface 19 of the substrate 12, as shown in FIGS. 4A-F, may includecontact pads 31. Some exemplary embodiments may further include signaltraces on the bottom 19 of the substrate 12. The metallic layer grid 16may be electrically coupled to a first ground plane 32A and a secondground plane 32B in the interior portion of the substrate 12 andelectrical contact pads 31 on the bottom surface of the substrate 12 byvias 30A and 30B. However, as discussed in greater detail below, in someembodiment, the first ground plane 32A and the second ground plane 32Bmay be electrically isolated from each other except for the electricalcoupling provided by the metallic layer grid 16.

FIG. 3 depicts the substrate 12 and metallic layer grid 16 of ameta-module work piece that may be used to simultaneously make multiplemodules 10. The metallic layer grid 16 may be used to form a peripheralmetallic structure or traces around a first electrical component area20A and a second electrical component area 20B, as shown in FIGS. 1-3.As outlined by the dashed lines in FIG. 3, each of the modules 10includes a module area 20 having the first electrical component area 20Aand the second electrical component area 20B. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2,body 22 may be formed from a dielectric material that resides over thesubstrate 12 and, in some cases, a portion of the metallic layer grid16. The shield metal contacts or metal traces encompasses the body 22associated with the first electrical component area 20A and the body 22associated with the second electrical component area 20B. A firstelectromagnetic shield 24A and a second electromagnetic shield 24B areformed by applying a conductive material 28 to the body 22 and exposedportions of the metallic layer grid 16 associated with the firstshielded compartment 11A and the second shielded compartment 11B.

As depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2, the first shielded compartment 11A may beelectrically isolated from the second shielded compartment 11B by acutout 26. The cutout 26 removes the conductive material 28 and aportion of the metallic layer grid 16 located between the first shieldedcompartment 11A and the second shielded compartment 11B. The firstshielded compartment 11A may be formed by coupling the firstelectromagnetic shield 24A, with one or more vias 30A, to a first groundplane 32A, as depicted in FIG. 2. The second shielded compartment 11Bmay be formed by coupling the second electromagnetic shield 24B, withone or more vias 30B, to a second ground plane 32B, as depicted in FIG.2. The first ground plane 32A may be electrically isolated from thesecond ground plane 32B. In addition, in some embodiments, signal tracesmay not run between the first shielded compartment 11A and the secondshielded compartment 11B.

FIGS. 4A-F depict cutaway view of stages of processing a meta-modulework piece used to produce modules. The modules may have two or moreelectrically isolated shield compartments. In some exemplaryembodiments, some modules may include one or more electrically coupledshielded compartments and one or more electrically isolated shieldedcompartments. FIG. 3 and FIGS. 6-11 depict a perspective view of themeta-module work piece undergoing the stages of processing themeta-module work piece, as depicted in FIGS. 4A-F.

FIG. 5 depicts a flow diagram of a process 100 that corresponds to thestages of processing the meta-model work-piece, as depicted in FIGS. 3,4A-F and FIGS. 6-11. A substrate 12 having a metallic layer grid 16, asdepicted in FIG. 3, is provided as a meta-module work piece, (step 102).The meta-module work-piece permits simultaneous production of themodules 10. The metallic layer grid 16 provides a shield metal contactor traces about the periphery of the first electrical component area 20Aand second electrical component area 20B of each of the modules 10 to beformed on the meta-module work piece. In addition, a masking material 33may be applied to the bottom surface 19 of the meta-module work piece toprotect electrical contact pads 31, as depicted in FIG. 4A, (step 104).The masking material 33 may include a soluble material or coating.Alternatively, the masking material 33 may be a masking tape applied tobottom surface 19 of the meta-module work piece. The bottom side of themeta-module may be protected by a masking tape. The masking tape mayalso be generally referred to as a platers tape. The masking tape may beapplied to the bottom surface 19 of the meta-module work piece prior toa plating process. The masking tape may form a conformal seal around theentire bottom surface 19 of the substrate 12. The conformal seal aroundthe entire bottom surface 19 may prevent the electroless andelectrolytic chemistry from contacting the contact pads 31 located onthe bottom surface 19.

As depicted in FIG. 4A and FIG. 6, electronic components or circuitry 34may be placed onto the substrate 12 of the meta-module work piece, (step106), such that the electronic components or circuitry 34 are mounted,secured, and/or attached to corresponding electrical component areas ofeach individual module's module area 20.

The module area 20 corresponding to each of the modules on themeta-module work piece is outlined by the dashed lines appearing on themeta-module work piece. As an example, depicted in FIG. 4A and FIG. 6,the first electronic circuitry 34A may be placed in the first electricalcomponent area 20A. The second electronic circuitry 34B may be placed inthe second electrical component area 20B. The first electronic circuitry34A may be the same as the second electronic circuitry 34B.Alternatively, the first electronic circuitry 34A and second electroniccircuitry 34B may be different types of circuitry.

As further depicted in FIG. 4B and FIG. 7, after the first electroniccircuitry 34A and the second electronic circuitry 34B are placed on thesubstrate 12, a dielectric material 35 may be applied to the meta-modulework piece to form an over-mold body 36 that covers the first electroniccircuitry 34A, the second electronic circuitry 34B, and the metalliclayer grid 16, (step 108).

Thereafter, as depicted in FIG. 4C and FIG. 8, the over-mold body 36 issub-diced, through the dielectric material of the over-mold body 36, toform the body 22 corresponding to each of the first electronic circuitry34A and the second electronic circuitry 34B and expose at least aportion of the metallic layer grid 16A, (step 110). In some embodiment,a small portion of the metallic layer grid 16 may be removed to ensurethat the portion of the metallic layer grid 16A is exposed. The exposedportions of the metallic layer grid 16A forms shield metal contacts ormetal traces about the periphery of the first electronic circuitry 34Aand about the periphery of the second electronic circuitry 34B. Theshield metal contacts or metal traces may provide a surface to which aconductive material 38 may be applied to form a first electromagneticshield 24A of the first shielded compartment 11A and the secondelectromagnetic shield 24B of the second shielded compartment 11B, asdepicted in FIG. 9.

After the meta-module work piece is cleaned and prepared for plating,(step 112), as depicted in FIG. 4D and 9, the conductive material 38 maybe applied over at least a portion of each body 22 and the exposedportions of the metallic layer grid 16A, (step 114). The conductivematerial 28 may be laid down in layers to form a first electromagneticshield 24A and a second electromagnetic shield 24B for each of themodules of the meta-module.

In some embodiments, the work piece may be cleaned prior to plating. Asan example, the meta-modules may be cleaned using a plasma cleaningprocess, which may also be referred to as an ash process. In the plasmacleaning process, the meta-module is placed in a vacuum chamber. Amixture of Argon with 1-5% Oxygen is introduced to the system. Highfrequency voltages are applied to ionze the low pressure gas. The plasmareacts to the exposed surfaces of the meta-module work piece to cleanorganic contaminants off the meta-module work piece. In addition, achemical process or a mechanical process may be used to roughen theexterior surfaces of each body 22 to improve adherence of the conductivematerial 38. The surfaces of the body 22 may also be roughed using aplasma cleaning process. The plasma cleaning process may also be used toclean any exposed metal, prepreg material, or laminate surfaces.

To form a first layer of electromagnetic shield material, an electrolessplating process may be performed to deposit a seed layer 40 of aconductive material 28 on top of the body 22 and in contact with theexposed portions of the metallic layer grid 16 of each of the modules.In an exemplary embodiment, the seed layer 40 of conductive material 28may be Copper (Cu), Aluminum (Al), Silver (Ag), Gold (Au), or otherconductive material. An electroless plating process is defined herein tobe a chemical deposition of metal instead of electrical-baseddeposition.

An exemplary electroless plating process of copper (Cu) on a dielectricsubstrate may require prior deposition of a catalyst such as apalladium-tin (Pd—Sn) colloid consisting of a metallic Pd coresurrounded by a stabilizing layer of Sn ions. The activation operation(deposition of the colloid) is usually followed by an accelerationoperation (removal of excess ionic tin). Adhesion of the deposit to thesubstrate may be improved by the mechanical or chemical pretreatmentoperations.

After the seed layer 40 of conductive material 28 is created over thebody 22 of each of the modules in the meta-module and in contact withthe exposed portions of the metallic layer grid 16A, an electrolyticplating process is performed to deposit a second layer 42 of conductivematerial 28 on top of the seed layer 40. In an exemplary embodiment, thesecond layer 42 of conductive material 28 may be Cu, Al, Ag, Au, orother conductive material. It should be appreciated that the exposedportions of the metallic layer grid 16A are electrically coupled to theseed layer 40, and the seed layer 40 may carry the current for theelectrolytic plating process.

After the second layer 42 is created, a third layer 44 is created on topof the second layer 42 through a second electrolytic plating process.The third layer 44 may be comparatively a poor conductor, and may be alayer of low stress nickel (Ni). Nickel serves to protect the conductivelayers so that they do not tarnish, corrode, or otherwise suffer fromenvironmental effects. Likewise, nickel may contribute to the shieldingfunction by absorbing electromagnetic radiation.

As depicted in FIG. 4E and FIG. 10, after the electromagnetic shieldmaterial is applied, the each of the modules on the meta-module issub-diced through the conductive material 28 and a portion of themetallic layer grid 16 to form a cutout 26. The cutout 26 isolates thefirst electromagnetic shield 24A of the first shielded compartment 11Afrom the second electromagnetic shield 24B of the second shieldedcompartment 11B for each of the modules 10, (step 116). Thereafter, asdepicted in FIG. 4F and in FIG. 11, the meta-module is singulated toseparate the modules 10 into individual modules, (step 118). Similar tothe module 10 of FIGS. 1-2, each of the individual modules 10 of FIGS.4F and 11 include a first shielded compartment 11A and a second shieldedcompartment 11B. In addition, the first shielded compartment 11A iselectrically isolated from the second shielded compartment 11B. Becausethe first shielded compartment 11A is electrically isolated from thesecond shielded compartment, ground currents do not circulate betweenthe first electromagnetic shield 24A and the second electromagneticshield 24B. In addition, similar to the module 10 of FIG. 2, the firstground plane 32A associated with the first shielded compartment 11A maybe electrically isolated from the second ground plane 32B associatedwith the second shielded compartment 11B, as depicted in FIGS. 4A-F.

Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modificationsto the embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements andmodifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosedherein and the claims that follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A module having multiple shielded compartmentsformed by a process comprising: forming a module having a first circuitand a second circuit on a first surface of a substrate; applying adielectric material to the module to form a body of the module; removinga portion of the body of the module to expose a portion of a metalliclayer grid about a periphery of the first circuit and about a peripheryof the second circuit; applying a conductive material to the body of themodule and an exposed portion of the metallic layer grid to form a firstshielded compartment associated with the first circuit and a secondshielded compartment associated with the second circuit; and removing aportion of the conductive material and the metallic layer grid toelectrically isolate the first shielded compartment of the module fromthe second shielded compartment of the module, without cutting all ofthe way through the substrate.
 2. The module formed by the process ofclaim 1 further comprising roughening an exposed surface of the bodyprior to applying the conductive material.
 3. The module formed by theprocess of claim 1 wherein applying the conductive material to the bodyof the module and the exposed portion of the metallic layer grid to formthe first shielded compartment associated with the first circuit and thesecond shielded compartment associated with the second circuitcomprises: depositing a seed layer of conductive material on the body ofthe module and the exposed portion of the metallic layer grid;generating a second layer on top of the seed layer of conductivematerial through an electrolytic plating process; and generating a thirdlayer of material on top of the second layer through a secondelectrolytic plating process.
 4. The module formed by the process ofclaim 3 wherein the seed layer of conductive material is Copper (Cu). 5.The module formed by the process of claim 3 wherein depositing the seedlayer of conductive material comprises using an electroless platingprocess.
 6. The module of claim 3 wherein the third layer of material isformed from Nickel (Ni).
 7. The module formed by the process of claim 1wherein removing the portion of the conductive material and the metalliclayer grid to electrically isolate the first shielded compartment fromthe second shielded compartment comprises sub-dicing through the body ofthe module and a portion of the metallic layer grid between the firstshielded compartment and the second shielded compartment.
 8. The moduleformed by the process of claim 1 wherein removing the portion of thebody of the module to expose the portion of the metallic layer gridabout the periphery of the first circuit and about the periphery of thesecond circuit includes removing a small portion of a top surface of themetallic layer grid.
 9. The module formed by the process of claim 1wherein the substrate includes a first ground plane associated with thefirst circuit and a second ground plane associated with the secondcircuit.
 10. The module formed by the process of claim 9 wherein thefirst ground plane is electrically isolated from the second groundplane.
 11. The module formed by the process of claim 9 wherein the firstground plane is electrically coupled to the first shielded compartmentand the second ground plane is electrically coupled to the secondshielded compartment.
 12. The module formed by the process of claim 9wherein the substrate includes a plurality of interior layers; whereinthe first ground plane is on one of the plurality of interior layers;and wherein the second ground plane is on one of the plurality ofinterior layers.
 13. The module formed by the process of claim 9 whereinthe substrate includes a second surface opposite the first surface, andwherein the second surface includes a first plurality of pads associatedwith the first circuit and a second plurality of pads associated withthe second circuit.
 14. The module of claim 13 further comprisingremoving a mask from the second surface after applying the conductivematerial.
 15. The module formed by the process of claim 1 wherein ameta-module work piece includes a plurality of modules, and theplurality of modules includes the module, the process furthercomprising: singulating the meta-module work piece to separate themodule from the plurality of modules.
 16. The module formed by theprocess of claim 15 wherein removing the portion of the conductivematerial and the metallic layer grid to electrically isolate the firstshielded compartment from the second shielded compartment comprisessub-dicing the plurality of modules such that after singulating themeta-module work piece the first shielded compartment of the module iselectrically isolated from the second shielded compartment of themodule.
 17. A method for manufacturing an electronic module comprising:providing a meta-module work piece for manufacturing a plurality ofmodules, wherein the meta-module work piece includes a top side having ametallic layer grid, wherein the metallic layer grid forms a peripheryabout a plurality of first electrical component areas and a plurality ofsecond electrical component areas, and each of the first electricalcomponent areas corresponds to a first electric circuit and each of thesecond electrical component areas corresponds to a second electriccircuit; mounting components for each first electric circuit and eachsecond electric circuit onto the meta-module work piece; applying adielectric material to the top side of the meta-module work piece toform an over-mold body; sub-dicing through the over-mold body of themeta-module work-piece to form a plurality of bodies and expose aportion of the metallic layer grid about the periphery of each of theplurality of bodies; applying a conductive material to the meta-modulework piece to cover each of the plurality of bodies and the exposedportions of the metallic layer grid about the periphery of each of theplurality of bodies to form a first shielded compartment and a secondshielded compartment on each of the modules, wherein the first shieldedcompartment and the second shielded compartment of each of the modulesare electrically coupled by a conductive path; sub-dicing through theconductive material and the metallic layer grid to break the conductivepath between the first shielded compartment and the second shieldedcompartment on each of the modules, without cutting all of the waythrough the substrate; singulating the meta-module work piece to formthe plurality of modules, wherein each of the modules includes the firstshield compartment and the second shielded compartment.